The Spy's Secret
by gallaghergirl09
Summary: (Takes place during The Silent Spy) How *did* Carson know that Nancy had gone to Scotland, anyway? What secrets is he hiding, and what does he think he's protecting his daughter from? The answer could change Nancy's life forever. (One shot, leading into a different story TBA)


"Off on a case, I assume?" Carson Drew asked. Coming home from the office one evening, he noticed that the Drews' housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, had only set two places at the table for dinner. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for the lawyer to find that his amateur sleuth daughter, Nancy, had taken off to tackle a mystery only to miss supper.

"She left earlier this afternoon," Hannah confirmed. She casually set a basket of hot rolls on the table next to a casserole dish, serving each of them before taking a seat. "Barely took the time to eat so much as an apple for lunch before throwing together a suitcase and rushing out the door."

"Sounds pretty urgent. Did she say where she was going?"

"No. She got a letter in the mail, and the next thing I knew, she was calling George to take her to the airport."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Mr. Drew mused. "She didn't even text me. Of course, she's fully capable of taking care of herself, but it's still a little worrying."

"I'm sure she just got excited," Hannah assured with a smile. "She'll probably call as soon as she can."

"I know you're right."

However, the night turned into the next morning without a word from Nancy. Mr. Drew tried to convince himself that Nancy was simply preoccupied with whatever mystery she was tackling, but it was all he could do to remain focused on his case files once he went into the office. A few hours into the day, his cell phone rang. He didn't recognize the number on the caller ID, but he still immediately answered, thinking it was Nancy calling from her hotel room.

"Hello? Nancy?" he said hopefully.

"Carson," a familiar voice answered. It was deep and feminine, and made Mr. Drew's heart sink to his feet. Although always grateful to hear it, this voice never had good news. "It's me."

"You, of all people, should know that this line isn't secure."

"That's not important right now. Nancy is is Glasgow."

At this, Mr. Drew's heart felt as if it had completely stopped. "What?"

"She arrived earlier today. She was lured here, and I don't know by whom. Whomever it was, you know as well as I that it can't be good."

"So, what are you doing about it?"

"I'm doing everything I can from this end," the caller assured. "Cathedral refuses to be responsible for this, and won't protect her. I've had to send in my own contact. There's little telling whether or not Nancy will trust her, though. I need you to try and convince her to go home. Hopefully, she'll listen to you."

"Right. I'll call her right away."

"Good. I don't know if I'll be able to call back, so you might have to get any other information from Nancy herself."

"Of course." Mr. Drew sighed. It was always this way with her- so many mysteries with so few answers. He had grown somewhat used to it over the past few years. "And, Kate?"

"Yes?"

"She'll be alright. And I love you."

There was a pause on the other side of the line. Finally, Kate replied, "I love you, too. And I'm sorry. Again. I can never apologize enough."

Before Mr. Drew had a chance to respond, the line went dead. Sitting at his desk, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, face in his hands. Would he ever be able to stop worrying about the women in his life, or would he always wonder if the next call he would get would be someone telling him the worst? At least he had some comfort about Nancy- most of the time, she kept him in the loop during her cases. But, how long would it be before Nancy become like her mother, forever in hiding, unable to contact her family except in dire circumstances? He didn't have time to think about that; he had to try and save Nancy in this moment.

Gathering his composure, he took out his cell phone and dialed Nancy's number.

"Hello?" his daughter answered.

"You're in Scotland?" Mr. Drew immediately demanded.

"How did you know?"

"Nevermind how I know! That's not the point. You're deflecting."

"Guilty."

"You don't have my permission to be in Scotland. Come home, right now."

"Your permission?" Nancy scoffed. "I think I'm a little too old for that."

"What you're too old for is running headfirst into a dangerous situation and leaving the rest of us to clean up after you." her father refuted. _Just like her mother,_ he thought, shaking his head. _Not thinking of the greater consequences of her actions..._ _I've been cleaning up after her for years... her lies, her secrets... I can't go through that again, not with Nancy. But more than that... I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her._

"What is with you right now? Calm down."

Feeling a touch of remorse for yelling, Mr. Drew went on. "Nancy. You don't get it. I am not angry at you." He wasn't even angry at Kate, if he were being honest with himself. Nearly a decade of hurt and worry had just come back up all of a sudden.

"Coulda fooled me."

"I'm scared. Please just come home."

"Why are you being so difficult?" Nancy asked.

"Nancy, if I help you…" Mr. Drew sighed, hesitating. "I'm pushing you right to whoever has lured you there."

"I can handle myself." At this, Mr. Drew felt a pang of pain, and of déjà vu.

"Your mother said the same thing." _And she barely made it out alive, and now…_ He hated hurting Nancy this way, but it was more important that she'd be safe. It was hard enough, losing Kate the first time. After learning the truth, about a year after the accident, Mr. Drew was even more determined to make sure Nancy didn't follow in the footsteps of her mother. He didn't want that life for her, or worse.

Yet, Kate passed her stubbornness onto their daughter, and he was unable to convince Nancy to come home. As he hung up, he resolved to continue to refuse to help her, in hope that she would become discouraged and finally come home. He could only wait and hope until then...


End file.
